|
Make sure you can
return
what you bought online
By Robbie
Woliver • Bankrate.com
 Pat
Moorhead, director of store services for Alta Vista's Shopping.com,
has the following advice for shopping and returning online:
- Study your etailer before you
shop there. You want to be comfortable with what you see and
with what you read about all of their business practices and policies.
- Look carefully at the company's return
policy. To be completely confident, find it before you shop.
It should also be explicitly printed on the invoice.
- Sort etailers by their biz
rates, which reflect customer input. Shop at the four-
or five-star rated stores.
- When you need to return something, do
it on your own time, like 10 p.m., so you're less likely to
be put on hold or to proceed without having vital questions answered.
- Look at the exchange or refund as you
would one from a catalog rather than an online version of
taking something back to a department store.
- Let the company know if the item is defective.
If you just tell them you want to return it, you might have to
pay for return mailing. If it's defective, you won't.
- Save all the packaging and receipts.
- Call correct customer service numbers
with all your information in front of you. Be sure you are
in the right place and make sure they get all of the information
you have available to smooth the way for your return.
Robbie Woliver
is a freelance writer based in New York
To comment on this story, please e-mail the Bankrate.com
editors
-- Posted: Jan. 4, 2000
|
